Professional sports

ST. LOUIS -- Randal Grichuk homered in his return to the majors, Yadier Molina had three hits and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-4 on Sunday night. Grichuk, who was sent to the minors on May 29 after struggling with consistency, had two hits -- including his solo homer in the sixth inning -- and scored twice. Molina, who had missed the previous two games after being hit by a foul tip on the knee, had three hits, scored three runs and drove in a run...

ST. LOUIS -- When it comes to taking one for the team, the Pirates can count on Josh Harrison. Harrison was hit by a pitch to drive in a run. He also homered and scored a run after hitting a double in a 7-3 Pittsburgh victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Andy Reid and John Dorsey arrived with the Kansas City Chiefs within weeks of each other, the coach and general manager given the massive undertaking of turning around a 2-14 franchise. Reid will head into Year 5 by himself. The Chiefs announced Thursday they had signed their coach to a contract extension, and then revealed less than an hour later that they parted ways with their GM. ...

PHILADELPHIA -- Aaron Nola felt like himself again. Nola pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning, Freddy Galvis and Tommy Joseph homered, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Thursday to stop a five-game losing streak. Nola (4-5) allowed one run, four hits and two walks in 7 1/3 innings and struck out eight...

PHILADELPHIA -- The Cardinals used the long ball to rally and small ball to win. Tommy Pham's second solo homer off Hector Neris in the ninth inning tied it and the St. Louis Cardinals came back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 in 10 innings Wednesday night...

PHILADELPHIA -- Tommy Pham wasn't going to let another cutter get by him. Pham hit a two-run homer as part of a seven-run 11th inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-1 on Tuesday night. Stephen Piscotty had a two-run double off Casey Fien after Edubray Ramos (0-5) started the inning with two walks. Yadier Molina and Pham followed with homers as the Cardinals had their biggest output of the season in an inning...

BALTIMORE -- Ubaldo Jimenez walked off the mound to a standing ovation, a rare reception for the beleaguered Baltimore Orioles' right-hander. Jimenez was stellar in his first start since May 22, Mark Trumbo homered for the second consecutive day and the Orioles took a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 8-5 victory Sunday...

BALTIMORE -- During a miserable stretch that dropped them into a last-place tie in the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles endured a familiar scenario: A poor outing by their starting pitcher put them in a quick hole, and an overworked bullpen allowed the deficit to grow...

BALTIMORE -- The St. Louis Cardinals enjoyed a feel-good blowout at the expense of the Baltimore Orioles, who absorbed another lopsided defeat in a duel between struggling teams in different leagues. Carlos Martinez struck out eight over six sharp innings, and St. Louis hit a season-high five home runs in an 11-2 victory Friday night...

ST. LOUIS -- Milwaukee's Keon Broxton is quickly gaining a reputation at Busch Stadium. His tape measure home run Thursday night furthered that narrative. Broxton and Eric Thames homered to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals...

ST. LOUIS -- Former NHL winger Craig Berube has been hired as an associate coach in St. Louis along with two others, completing the staff under coach Mike Yeo. Berube, who played for five teams during his 17-year NHL career, spent last season as the head coach of the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves. The 51-year-old led the Wolves to a 44-19-13 record last season, the team's best finish in seven years...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It's a safe assumption that Alex Smith has had more enjoyable offseasons. Start with the way last season ended, when the Chiefs quarterback turned in a dismal performance in a playoff loss to Pittsburgh. The Steelers won despite failing to score a touchdown, ending a season for Kansas City that included 12 wins and a division title...

ST. LOUIS -- Eric Thames homered and drove in three runs, Matt Garza pitched five innings in his first start after a short stint on the disabled list, and the Milwaukee Brewers held on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-6 Wednesday night. Eric Sogard added a two-run double to lead a four-run second inning as Milwaukee improved to 18-13 on the road...

ST. LOUIS -- Playing time in the St. Louis outfield has been hard to come by for Jose Martinez lately. He earned some more Tuesday afternoon. Martinez hit two solo homers and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-0 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two weeks ago, the Kansas City Chiefs seemed to know not only who their wide receivers would be this season but also each of their neatly defined roles. Jeremy Maclin was the No. 1, the veteran with good hands capable of stretching the field. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Smith has gone through hundreds off offseason workouts with Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Marcus Peters. Yet the Chiefs quarterback felt compelled to introduce himself Tuesday. Call it some good-natured ribbing after the three defensive stars skipped voluntary workouts...

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant capped his spectacular first season with the Warriors by bringing home that coveted NBA championship he joined Golden State last July so determined to get, scoring 39 points in a fast-and-furious, Finals-clinching 129-120 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night...

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals needed a big hit, and Dexter Fowler delivered -- again. Fowler hit a three-run homer and Adam Wainwright tossed five solid innings, leading St. Louis to a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. The Cardinals have won three in a row since a season-high seven-game losing streak...

ST. LOUIS -- Carlos Martinez has been waiting for this moment. The St. Louis Cardinals' ace right-hander struck out 11 and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-0 on Saturday, the first shutout and first complete game of his career. "All I can really say is I'm living out my dream," Martinez said through an interpreter. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Getting back in the win column was big for Michael Wacha and the St. Louis Cardinals. Aledmys Diaz hit a solo home run and Wacha pitched six strong innings as the Cardinals snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night...

CINCINNATI -- Joey Votto had one of those frequent days when he hits everything hard -- the last thing the St. Louis Cardinals needed at this point. Votto had a two-run homer among his four hits, Adam Duvall had three hits off Mike Leake -- his counterpart in one of Cincinnati's rebuilding trades -- and the Reds beat the Cardinals 5-2 on Thursday to complete a four-game sweep...

CINCINNATI -- Scooter Gennett didn't have any more homers in that tan bat. Instead, another Cincinnati utility player hit the ball a long way and decided a game. St. Louis kept Gennett in check a day after his four-homer game, but Patrick Kivlehan had a pinch-hit three-run shot that sparked the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-4 victory Wednesday night, extending the Cardinals' longest losing streak in four years...

CINCINNATI -- Cleats, pants, jersey, hat. Scooter Gennett peeled off his uniform -- the one still dripping from a douse of celebratory ice water -- and handed every piece to a clubhouse manager. All of them were headed to Cooperstown. All so hard to believe...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Smith acknowledged his surprise over the weekend when he learned the Chiefs had released Jeremy Maclin, depriving the quarterback of arguably his most consistent and veteran wide receiver. Turns out the decision had been in the works for a while...

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Scribbling "28" next to his autograph takes some getting used to for Jamaal Charles, the Kansas City Chiefs' all-time leading rusher who is embarking on a comeback with the AFC West rival Denver Broncos. "I'm signing 25 still," Charles said, chuckling. "One time they were about to break down the huddle and I was about to say, 'Chiefs."'...